One Up The Annals
https://linktr.ee/oneuptheannals
Welcome to One Up the Annals
Hosted by Rab Greeson.
Join me as I do a cinematic narration of my creative nonfiction.
This isn’t a typical talk into a mic and interview people. Come hear a unique take on topics I find interesting, episodes are produced with music and sfx.
This show digs into the moments, obsessions, and mischief that shaped our world… not the textbook versions, but the human ones. The “how did we get here?” moments that connect past to present.
Each episode blends,
Cinematic storytelling
Cultural commentary with teeth
A little humor (the classy kind, mostly)
A unique approach and perspective
Whether it’s artists spiraling into brilliance, rulers courting disaster, or icons wrestling with the thin line between genius and madness, the Annals bring it all to life with heart, style, and a dash of irreverence.
If you love history, storytelling, or simply seeing humanity at its most human, you’re in the right place.
Where shame becomes legend… and the past finally gets the podcast it deserves.
Goodnight.
One Up The Annals
Ep 23 — December, Dickens-Style: Traditions Past, Present, and Future
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https://linktr.ee/oneuptheannals
December is supposed to be warm, joyful, and magical.
So why does it also feel loud, expensive, exhausting, and emotionally charged?
I’m Rab Greeson and in this episode of One Up the Annals, we take a Dickens-style journey through the traditions of December guided by three ghosts who know exactly why this season hits the way it does.
We explore:
- Why Christmas trees were once fire hazards and survival symbols
- How lights went from “don’t die in the dark” to neighborhood competitions
- The strange, sacred, and occasionally unhinged origins of mistletoe, caroling, stockings, eggnog, fruitcake, and flying reindeer
- How December traditions transformed into performances, surveillance, and consumer rituals
- Why modern Christmas feels louder than ever and what we might want to carry forward instead
This isn’t about canceling Christmas.
It’s about understanding it.
From pagan fire rituals to mall Santas, from survival to spectacle, from quiet generosity to public performance, December has always been watching.
And maybe, just maybe, it’s trying to remind us of something.
Where December becomes legend…
It’s in the Annals.
